WE meet two sets of sisters... one pair share a wardrobe, the others go out of their way to avoid wearing similar clothes.

FOR some twins the thought of looking the same as their sibling is a nightmare but others embrace it. Today we ask two sets of identical sisters why?

Lisa and Claire Farrell

THE 33-year-olds are from Glasgow and Cumbernauld. Lisa is a hairdresser and Claire is a call-centre worker. They avoid dressing alike.

Lisa said: “When we were at school, my mum used to dress us alike all the time.

“We’re identical so it’s hard enough to tell us apart even when we’re not wearing the same outfits. I think it makes people see you as ‘the twins’ rather than for your own personalities. As we got older we wanted to express ourselves more, so tried to look different.

“Now, we never wear the same clothes.

“Our lives are quite different and our career paths have taken us in different directions, so I think that has a big influence on how we dress. Claire works in an office but I’m a hairdresser, so fashion, hair and make-up are more important.

“I like to mix vintage with high street shops like Topshop, H&M, Forever 21 and Zara.

“I’m definitely the more dressy one. I always have my hair and tan done, and I love girly dresses, shoes and handbags.

“Claire is more casual but makes more of an effort for a night out.

“We go shopping together and give each other advice, even though our styles are quite different.

Twins Lisa and Claire Farrell (Photo: Paul Chappells/Daily Record)

“She loves chunky boots and has an amazing collection of leather jackets and watches. With me, it’s handbags and shoes that are always top of my shopping list.

“We share our wardrobes with each other, so it’s nice to be able to borrow things and put together new outfits. When we lived at home, our wardrobe took over the spare room. It was completely full of clothes and accessories.

“There was just once recently that we both bought the same outfit. I was living in Ireland for a couple of years and my parents had come to visit me.

“When I met them they were laughing because the floral jumper and skinny jeans I was wearing were exactly the same as the ones Clare had bought a few weeks earlier in Glasgow.”

Claire said: “I’m definitely the more casual one. I like jeans and leather jackets. It’s been that way since we went to high school and stopped dressing alike.

“Lisa has a few things in her wardrobe that I’d never wear. There’s a long wool cardigan that I’d never be seen in and her heels are just far too high for me.

“Now and again, I’ll borrow some tops from her but we’ll go out of our way to make sure we’re not wearing the same thing.

“I’d feel quite weird dressing in matching outfits as grown-ups.

“We’ve had a bit of fun with it. I once did Lisa’s PE exam for her and she did my swimming exam for me.

“When we were a bit older, I sat in a bar with Lisa’s boyfriend for about three hours and then I met her in the toilet and we swapped outfits. He didn’t even notice.

“I think once people get to know us, it’s easy to tell us apart, though.”

Madeleine and Stephanie Barrett

The 23-year-olds are from Pollokshields in Glasgow. They live together and both study law in Edinburgh. They admit they now share a wardrobe.

Madeleine said: “When we were younger, mum used to dress us up in the same colours, and one would wear a dress and the other jeans and a waistcoat. I was ‘the boy’ until Stephanie had her hair cut short.

“When we were in fancy dress, I would be Danny to Steph’s Sandy. I didn’t like dresses then but I love them now.

“We always wanted to be alike and if Steph had something I didn’t, I’d be upset.

“We still dress similarly, although my clothes are a bit more grungy, like my boyfriend’s.

“On our 16th birthday at Topshop, Oxford Circus, dad said we could have any outfit we wanted. We chose the exact same denim skirt, top and shoes.

“We don’t normally buy two of things unless it’s shoes or bags and belts. Now we just share clothes – it’s more economical.

“We like to be known as twins. In Pollokshields, there are some old lady twins who are so adorable. We see them and think, ‘That’s going to be us’.”

Stephanie said: “Mum used to dress us in hideously co-ordinating outfits and, when I got my hair cut short, I got to wear the boy’s version.

“We couldn’t pick clothes at that stage but probably thought we looked great.

“At five, I realised that if Maddy had something like little jewelled heels, I had to have them. We wanted to be the same. We were Goths together, skaters together, and we both stopped being Goths at the exact same time and put on white summer dresses instead.

“I guess we were a brand and realised there was a power in that.

“I’m a bit more prim because I have a slightly different body shape with a curvier chest.

“We turned our separate wardrobes into one for summer and one for winter and we share the same make-up too.

“Maddy has talked about dyeing her hair brown but chickens out.

“Maddy bought a Vivienne Westwood dress for my birthday, knowing she’d like it too. We can’t share shoes because Maddy has size seven feet and I’m a five but sometimes we share a six.

“It’ll be sad to keep dressing the same all our lives but it’s difficult not to, as well.”